Trio of women to be honored for strength, resilience

STOCKTON — Three San Joaquin County women are being recognized for their resilience and success by being named recipients of La Adelita Recognition Award.

The Mexican Heritage Center presents the award to women in the community of Mexican descent who are fighters and have shown persistence throughout their lives. “Adelitas” — the award’s namesake — were the women who cooked, cared for and fought alongside men during the Mexican Revolution. Over time, it’s come to describe women of strength and courage.

Flores is a teacher at the San Joaquin County Juvenile Justice Center. She said she has been fighting injustices since she was a teenager despite facing her own challenges, including growing up in different homes and becoming a teen mom. The Stockton native has unsuccessfully run for office three times but said through campaigning she was able to speak up for the forgotten, homeless, incarcerated and traumatized.

Gallardo Garza is the daughter of Eva and David Gallardo, a former migrant farm worker and retired lumber company employee, respectively. She was the only child and was born and raised in Stockton.

The mother of two earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication disorders and sciences from the University of the Pacific and California State University, San Jose. Gallardo Garza works as a speech therapist at Elmwood Elementary School. Her goal is to create several fundraisers to benefit children who need speech and language services during the summer break but don’t qualify for summer school services.

Mayra Cuevas is the owner of Tax Express & Cuevas Insurance in south Stockton. The single mother of three was born in Sonora, Mexico, and immigrated to the U.S. with her mother and siblings when she was a child. She said she grew up living in public housing, at times sharing one room with six family members, and had to learn to be self-sufficient and independent quickly as her mother had to work in the fields and warehouses to provide for her children.

Her business’ mission is to help every family and individual to accomplish their goals and do so with the dignity they deserve, Cuevas said.

“I know how difficult it is to come from the bottom,” she said.

The women will be recognized during an awards dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Mexican Heritage Center, 111 S. Sutter Street. Tickets are $35 per person. To purchase a ticket or for more information about the dinner, call (209) 969-9306.